All Articles Tagged "nicki minaj"

On this episode of "Did Y'all See?" the editors of MadameNoire discuss the twitter beef between Nicki Minaj and Taylor Swift, plus the mother who was arrested for leaving her kids in a mall food court while she attended a job interview. Watch and weigh in with the ladies in the comments section.

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When Nicki Minaj expressed her frustration about MTV failing to nominate “Anaconda” for video of the year, we immediately assumed she referencing an issue of race. MTV has a very long history of pushing Black artists and other artist of color into the margins.

The story dominated the news cycle, particularly when Taylor Swift came out asking Nicki why she was coming for her, when she had been nothing but supportive. You know the mainstream is always here for Taylor’s victimization.

But before her performance on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Nicki addressed the Twitter discussion. And her comments made us wonder if this was about race at all…

Read the excerpts and then watch the entire interview below.

Well, first of all I spoke to Taylor Swift yesterday on the phone. She was super, super sweet and she apologized. She said, ‘You know look, I didn’t understand the big picture of what you were saying but now I get it.’

So we’re all good.

I was just saying– I posted something on my Instagram and it just showed the stats of other videos that had been nominated previously and there just seemed to be a little funny business going on.

“Anaconda” had such a huge cultural impact and on top of that we broke the Vevo record. So, this is actually my third time breaking the Vevo record and Anaconda, therefore should have been nominated for it. And I do think that if it was one of the pop girls, they would have had many nominations for it.

I think I got two nominations for Anaconda for female and for hip hop but it should have been for the year.

I think that we just have to have both images for girls. We can’t have only one type of body being glorified in the media because it just makes girls even more insecure than we already are.

Interesting.

In addition to mentioning body type and pop in her initial Twitter rants, she also said:

“I’m not always confident. Just tired. Black women influence pope culture so much but are rarely rewarded for it.”

She later deleted that tweet.

During her comments this morning, she softened her language a little bit, referencing body types and pop vs. rap. It’s coded and watered down a bit for the White folks but the implications are still the same. Pop= White, Rap= Black. Slim bodies = White girls. Thicker bodies=Black girls.

But maybe the predominately White crowd and White host weren’t ready for the race talk.

What do you think about Nicki’s explanation on GMA? Do you think people will understand the greater, deeper, racial implications behind her message or will they be lost in the sauce?

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Can I tell y’all that I’ve been giving Nicki Minaj both the side eye and full stank face for a couple months now? Mainly because of the way she’s been treating Safaree, her former ride or die boo of 12 years. Her actions have completely turned my stomach.

When the two were dating, we never really knew whether they were together officially or not. With the exception of a few vacation shots, Nicki never publicly claimed him as her man. But was more than ready to let the world know when they had broken up. And after she shed a few tears on Angie Martinez’s radio show, she went on an on-going campaign to slander his name.

To give you just a few examples:

She offered a Twitter co-sign when comedian Lil Duval said he couldn’t rap.

When she thought Safaree was going to release a sex tape, she went on a Twitter rant, talking about how he took advantage of her, said he was flossing on IG, and called him evil and ungrateful.

The sex tape claims were false.

But in all of his interviews, Safaree has always come off a class act, ducking and dodging opportunities to bash her.

Though she released “Bed of Lies,” talking about how her ex never paid a bill; when Safaree released his breakup song, “Love The Most,” telling his truth, Nicki, once again, pissed on the song saying he didn’t tell the full truth.

People correctly assumed that Nicki was referencing infidelity.

When asked, Safaree said the two cheated on each other.

She even sent him an email, on his birthday, stirring up drama.

Those are just a few examples the back and forth hasn’t stopped.

Now that Nicki and Meek are trying to convince us that they’re happily in love, Meek has joined in on the attempts to shame him, digging up old videos, calling him gay.

Ugh.

Anyone who has ever seen these two together could see that Nicki didn’t always respect Safaree or treat him well. Which is quite a shame considering he was the one who seemed to be riding for her from the beginning.

Every time I think of them as a former couple, I see them vibing out to the reggae set at the BET Awards. That was her boo, for real. They had a connection.

When they first broke up and I saw the tears she shed over that man, I wanted them to get back together. I felt like they could work it out. But as soon as she let herself appear vulnerable, that’s when she started dogging Safaree.

Any man in their right mind would find it difficult to return after she’s consistently challenged his integrity, pissed on his dreams and allowed her new boo clown him.

At first, I interpreted her little outbursts as that of a woman scorned. He was the one who broke up with her after all. But now that they’re continuing, though she claims to be happy, I find it more petty and vindictive.

Closure takes time. But there’s something so vile about disloyalty. And some behaviors you just can’t rationalize away with a bruised ego and raw emotions.

Obviously, we don’t know what went down in their relationship; but when someone’s supported you for so long, the least you can do is talk shit about them in private, with your girlfriends and keep all of that messiness off of Twitter.

And you really won’t let your new man go at him. Why? For what? Who, in a contented relationship, sits around dogging their exes? You’re supposed to be on to better things. Sadly, her own actions, when they were together and certainly now that they’re apart, have shown Meek he should treat Safaree like garbage. And Nicki owes him more than that.

Reaching out on homeboy’s birthday was particularly desperate. She knew the interaction wasn’t going to be pleasant, but she wanted some type of interaction so badly, that she was willing to add salt to a day she knew he was attempting to celebrate.

Come on Nicki, do better!

Pettiness is the clearest indication that she’s just not over him, despite the fact she’s trying to convince the world she’s in love with Meek.

I, for one, am not buying that faux relationship. Everything they do looks like a sham.

And if I were Meek Mill, I would be deeply troubled at the amount of time my girlfriend spent talking about her ex.

Though it’s like watching an absolute train wreck, we can all learn something from Ms. Minaj. Ladies, you can know for certain, without a doubt that you are not, I repeat, are not over your ex, if you still feel the need to bash him and reach out to him privately, for any reason. And as Nicki is inadvertently showing us, it’s better to do your healing behind closed doors.

If your video celebrates women with very slim bodies, you will be nominated for vid of the year. I’m not always confident. Just tired. Black women influence pop culture so much but are rarely rewarded for it.

Swift, whose music video “Bad Blood” scored a VMA nod, felt that Nicki’s tweets were a personal attack and quickly responded on the social media platform.

I’ve done nothing but love & support you. It’s unlike you to pit women against each other. Maybe one of the men took your slot.

Once informed that Nicki’s anger was not directed at her, but more so at the system that perpertuates these double standards, Swift began to back peddle.

@NICKIMINAJ If I win, please come up with me!! You’re invited to any stage I’m ever on.

The “Shake It Off” singer also issued a more formal apology Thursday for her hasty response.

I thought I was being called out. I missed the point, I misunderstood, then misspoke. I'm sorry, Nicki.
@NICKIMINAJ

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It doesn’t matter what profession you take on to pay the bills, no one enjoys being overlooked. Just ask Nicki Minaj. The hip hop/pop star used her social media platforms to create much needed conversation regarding race, gender and recognition.

The 2015 MTV Video Music Awards will air on August 30 and are greatly celebrated among industry talent. Sure everyone would love to win a Grammy to showcase on their shelves, but they’ll also make room for a Moon Man and other accolades. Nicki along with other notable artists like Beyoncé and Taylor Swift are up for multiple awards this year — and while you might think calling attention to a snub is being greedy, you first need to look at the writing on the wall.

“When the ‘other’ girls drop a video that breaks records and impacts culture they get that nomination,” Minaj tweeted. “If I was a different ‘kind’ of artist, Anaconda would be nominated for best choreo and vid of the year,” she adds.”

While some might argue a music video that shows booties shaking and raising dumbbells isn’t worthy of a Best Choreography nomination, you have to remember those days of “and one, and two” videos with a kick ball change and pirouette are gone.

I think most of us however are very surprised Nicki did not receive a nomination for Video of the Year considering “Anaconda” was literally a big a$$ success. Not only was the single from her third studio album, The Pinkprint extremely popular on the Billboard charts but, at the time, broke a record for the most views in 24 hours (close to 20 million). This in turn sparked tons of photo and video parodies — including funny gal and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres to getting in on the action. It doesn’t matter if you think the video was good or not, there’s no denying the impact it had on pop culture.

Nicki’s statement that “black women influence pop culture so much but are rarely rewarded for it” rings true in so many industries. Just look what happened to Ava DuVernay who was snubbed from the Best Director category at this year’s Academy Awards. She recently told attendees of a media conference “you gotta follow the white guys” when talking about how to navigate the professional world. “Too often, we live within their games, so why would you not study what works?”

As much as we should be happy to see women as a whole make progress, the sad fact remains that Black women continuously get left behind. Yes, the average woman earns 78 cents to the man’s dollar. But guess what. Black women only make 64 cents to that same dollar. Sure Nicki Minaj and others in the music biz have little to complain about when it comes to earning a coin, but that is their corporate realm — and sometimes you need to call a party foul.

Now who knows the real reason why Nicki was left out of the Video of the Year category. You might think it’s no big deal considering there are other representatives of color like Bey and Kendrick to make up for her absence. You might think nothing’s wrong considering Beyoncé and Nicki are both in the Best Female Video category. Heck, you might not even give a darn about the award show.

It might be easy to sweep the idea of Black women getting overlooked on a professional level under the because we have ladies like Shonda Rhimes , Oprah and Beyoncé in the game. If you’re cool with just one or two in a sea of talent getting the spotlight, that’s your personal conviction. Personally I think only one of five black CEOs of a Fortune 500 company being a woman shows we have a problem.

While I use examples from the entertainment industry, there are bigger disparities among other industries that are a reminder there needs to be greater progress. A study in the Law & Society Review revealed Black women are not only undervalued and paid less, but also less likely to gain a job interview or offer compared to others.

The talent is there and working hard, but don’t always get the break or the recognition they deserve.

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The MTV Video Music Awards have always been more about controversy than music videos. From the Kanye West and Taylor Swift “I’mma let you finish” moment to Lady Gaga’s meat dress and the Britney, Christina and Madonna liplock heard ’round the world, you never know what to expect from the award show. But as for the nominations and the announcement of them, there is rarely any fuss over them.

That is until now.

The nominations for the 2015 MTV VMAs were announced yesterday morning, and both Nicki Minaj and controversial rapper Azealia Banks wasted no time tweeting their feelings about being snubbed. Minaj expressed her gratitude for her nominations but felt some kind of way about the lack of recognition for “Feeling Myself”:

In both cases, Banks wasn’t wrong. Minaj has won that award six years in a row. In fact, she won so many awards this year that at one point during last month’s ceremony, she accepted one and didn’t even know what it was for. And mainstream media has no love for opinionated Black women. But Banks is unfiltered and often emotional, and this combination ends with her saying some very taboo things more often than not. It’s become so normal for her that people can’t hear her even when she makes a very valid point. In the end, her credibility and musical talents have taken a back seat to her often tone-deaf opinions.

But Minaj does not have this issue. She defends herself and brings attention to her ownership of her sexuality. Her comments on race, while rare, are usually shared without backlash–until today. After inquiring about the lack of love for her collaboration with Beyoncé, Minaj continued to retweet her fans who were in an uproar that “Anaconda” and “Feeling Myself” did not receive nominations for Video of the Year. Minaj would even go on to blame the lack of acknowledgment for her record-breaking videos on the fact that she’s a Black woman, and a voluptuous one at that:

If I was a different “kind” of artist, Anaconda would be nominated for best choreo and vid of the year as well. 😊😊😊 — NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) July 21, 2015

When the “other” girls drop a video that breaks records and impacts culture they get that nomination. 😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊

Huh? U must not be reading my tweets. Didn’t say a word about u. I love u just as much. But u should speak on this. @taylorswift13 — NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) July 21, 2015

It’s a bit of a reach for Minaj to act like she wasn’t calling out Swift. And it is interesting considering that there is a public history of good will between the two superstars. Back in 2011, Minaj went on record with Billboard to publicly acknowledge Swift for introducing “Super Bass” to a new fanbase. Swift rapped the song in a viral clip after requesting it during a radio interview.

“I want to publicly say again that Taylor Swift really launched that single into another stratosphere, with just tweeting about it and rapping it and stuff. I performed it with Taylor, and she’s so cute, and she’s like a big bowl of ice cream!”

While Minaj may have been a little petty with the subtweets, did Swift need to insert herself in this conversation about the Black female plight in the entertainment industry? Nope. Not unless she was trying to boost the issue into the mainstream. Swift’s main problem is with the lack of girl power, whereas Minaj is citing issues of race. But Swift’s gender-based clap back completely overshadowed Minaj’s whole point. In no time flat, they were caught up in yet another celebrity faux “beef,” with Minaj’s statements being labeled as “jabs” against Swift by mainstream media. Swift wins yet again.

The “Bad Blood” singer is often lauded for being the innocent, bullied country-meets-pop singer who supports all girls, but even she couldn’t acknowledge the possibility of a racial disparity in the music business. So, instead, she made a moment that wasn’t about her, about her. And while Minaj’s agenda is definitely self-serving, she had a point that could have made for a great national conversation until it was successfully derailed by Swift.

There’s absolutely no denying that this issue between successful, wealthy music artists is of much lower social significance and importance than the tragedy of Sandra Bland, Kindra Chapman, and many others. But this back and forth does expose things about the racial climate in America. This is about the devaluing of Black women and the kidnapping of our narrative. When Amandla Stenberg commented on Kylie Jenner’s appropriation of Black women’s style while ignoring the plight of Black people earlier this month, she was condemned as an angry, jealous Black woman making a big deal out of nothing. As Minaj broadcasts her feelings of erasure, Swift’s interjection and claiming of the narrative makes Minaj (like Azealia Banks, Amandla Stenberg, and countless others) out to be just another “angry Black woman.”

And mainstream media helped to push that image. Right after the spat, news articles from prominent sites like Entertainment Weekly showcased pictures of Minaj with her pink wig giving crazy eyes next to an angelic, glamor shot of Swift. After those on Twitter had raised their voice in disgust, EW issued an apology without actually addressing the intent behind the selection of the photos:

An earlier version of our post on Taylor & Nicki used an insensitive juxtaposition of photos. It was a hasty choice—we sincerely apologize.

Inevitably, someone will apologize, and their reconciliation will be broadcast for the world to see at next month’s VMAs. But that does not mean this issue has been put to rest. The erasure of Black women is one of the most divisive and maddening issues we face. Black women so profoundly influence culture and create movements, but are continually cast aside. Our styles are appropriated, rebranded, and we are perpetually silenced.

It doesn’t matter how you feel about the “Anaconda” video or the “Feeling Myself” clip. It doesn’t matter if Minaj’s image rubs you the right or wrong way. But it does matter that as a Black woman, whether in the public eye or not, her feelings are heard and acknowledged.

Serious question: How often is Black love celebrated these days? Millenials like myself are pretty much chalking up the idea of true love to rare chance, nearly as rare as getting out of student loan debt before 30. These things simply don’t happen often enough.

In a sea of #MCM, #WCW, #relationshipgoals, Love & Hip Hop dysfunction and a mountain of scholarly articles on why we aren’t getting married, Joe Budden is further contributing to our issues with his recent comments about Meek Mill and Nicki Minaj’s relationship.

I won’t lie, when these two first got together, I thought it was a complete joke. I didn’t believe it and refused to. Then I saw the heavy social media promotion on both sides – can you believe that two people involved in a relationship are both excessively claiming each other on the ‘gram? – and accepted the new hip-hop couple. As Budden’s co-host on his podcast “I’ll Name This Podcast Later” stated, they’re cute.

For the most part, many of us ladies see sappy captions, and we melt. But the Slaughterhouse MC has an issue with the way some women swooned over the way Meek Mill looked at Nicki Minaj during their performance at the 2015 BET Awards.

“Girls are fucking idiots,” he said.

Oh. I’m sorry that a Black man on stage – who isn’t President Obama looking at Michelle or Jay Z staring at Beyoncé – makes us smile. I think it’s actually refreshing. But I don’t find Budden’s critiques of their relationship anywhere near delightful. In fact, I find his reasoning for considering Meek Mill’s open display of adoration as “nasty” to be even more trippy.

“Meek’s music is too hard for me to look at him with this fucking sappy fuck shit. Be the hardcore guy that I’m sure she was attracted to at some point,” Budden said.

Ah, yes. Be hard. “Be a man.” Here we go again with that.

Sure, I blast Meek Mill when I’m feeling a little thuggish on my morning commute, but I do the same with Jay Z. Why is Meek Mill scrutinized for openly adoring Nicki Minaj when Jigga has done the same thing on countless stages and for an entire tour? Perhaps Budden knows that if he tried to criticize Jay, the vet would lyrically assassinate him on wax, and the Beygency would probably wage war across countries – he simply would not be safe.

But as far as Nicki’s “type,” how does he know what it is she is attracted to? And most importantly, why does Meek Mill’s personality have to be one-dimensional to folks? It’s typically the toughest men who are the softest on the inside. We all crave and certainly deserve love and tenderness, and there is more to people than just the persona we see on social media, through their records and when they’re with one group of people versus another. We all manage to have significant parts of ourselves that we only expose to certain people.

Joey, if you’re jealous of Meek just say you’re jealous of Meek. There is nothing “simp” or “nasty” about the way the Philly rapper salutes his girlfriend. We should stop discouraging rappers, athletes (Hey, Russell Wilson) and everyday men for that matter, from openly expressing the way they feel about the women they love. It’s not a weakness. In fact, it can be a beautiful thing when done right. As Minaj expressed via Twitter, “Why would you be bothered by another man showing love to his girl? Let’s celebrate black love.”

There aren’t enough positive relationships being celebrated or even cultivated today. And considering that Meek Mill and Nicki Minaj seem happy while Budden (and the world) has seen his own romantic life go to hell in a handbasket, he has no room to tell anybody how they should express or handle themselves in their relationship. I’m sure Tahiry and Kaylin Garcia have plenty advice for him…

Over the weekend, Safaree Samuels implied that his ex-girlfriend, Nicki Minaj, had him banned from the red carpet at the BET Awards. Nicki’s current boyfriend, Meek Mill, however, insists that they had nothing to do with the network’s refusal to allow Samuels on the carpet Sunday.

“I don’t get people banned; that’s like calling the cops,” the “Bad for You” rapper told Sway Calloway. “We don’t call the cops on people and sh-t like that. What we gotta get him banned from the BET Awards for? He ain’t never been at the BET Awards by himself. I don’t even think he was invited. I don’t really be liking those accusations though. She asked me like, ‘He said I said it. You did it?’ I was like, ‘No.’ I don’t get people banned. I be wanting to see everybody. I don’t never try to get people away from me. People try to get away from me.”

As for Samuels speaking out about his breakup with Nicki, Meek had this to say:

“That ain’t no sh-t you do to no girl that been taking care of you and looking out for you.”

There has been plenty of talk regarding an overlap between Nicki’s relationship with Samuels and her new romance with Meek. But according to the lyricist, their relationship was pretty much a done deal when he started kicking it with her. Apparently, he feels that Samuels didn’t fight hard enough to save the relationship, which is why it ended.

Many have voiced their opinions, including us, about what appears to be Nicki’s lack of loyalty to Samuels. But on Nicki and Meek’s collaborative track, “Bad For You,” which is featured on Meek’s new album, Dreams Worth More Than Money, the Philly rapper defends his partner against critics. He raps:

Cool with it I get it though
First year we both fronted/We had feelings we didn’t show
Second year we couldn’t hide it/Funny part they didn’t know
How could something that’s so wrong feel so right?/But who to tell you this wrong, though?/This your life

During his chat with Calloway, Meek explained the inspiration behind the lyrics.

“If you in a situation you ain’t happy in, make a move and do what you wanna do. Who can really tell you that you’re wrong? Nobody really knows what’s going on in your life and your situation behind closed doors.”

Interestingly, when aksed what advice he offered Nicki during her public split from Samuels, Meek had this to say:

“Do what’s best for you, really. I’m not no hater. I tell her, ‘Do what’s best for you; whatever you feel in your heart. I don’t want to be in the middle of something and it ain’t how you really feel.’ I always had my own money, coming up. I been making my own way. I ain’t never had plans of Nicki Minaj being in my future helping me be successful. I already thought I was going to be successful. I be wanting to be a part of something that’s genuine and 100%. So make sure you know what you’re doing. Make sure you fully want to do this. I’m here; I’m with it. ‘Cuz I know this what I want to do. I been wanting to do this. This ain’t got nothing to do with homie; it ain’t nothing personal.”

I’m still not 100% sure of what to make of their relationship, but I will say that this interview helped me to view Meek in a different light. You can check it out in its entirety below; it’s pretty interesting.

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More often than not, I find myself asking, “What the hell just happened?” following a Nicki Minaj acceptance speech. Of course, Sunday’s BET Awards was no different.

The “Feeling Myself” rapper was definitely feeling something last night when she graced the stage to accept the Viewers’ Choice Award. At first, it seemed that Nicki would be delivering a normal, drama-free acceptance speech, but it quickly became the comedy hour when she realized that she didn’t even know which award she was accepting.

“What was this award for? I’m sorry,” she asked about seven seconds into her monologue.

In her defense, she explained that she was backstage prior to being summoned to the podium and didn’t hear the announcement. However, after thanking her devoted fans, her speech took another interesting left turn. What started out as an encouraging word about following your dreams quickly morphed into Super Saiyan shade presumably aimed at her ex-boyfriend, Safaree Samuels.

“One day, you will wake up and look around and your dreams will be gone, and then you will be mad at somebody, but be mad at your goddamn self.”

As you may recall, the night before the show, Samuels took to Twitter claiming that BET banned him from the red carpet. Considering that he can’t recall ever having bad blood with the folks at BET, he seemed to imply that his famous ex had something to do with getting him the boot.

Of course, she’ll probably deny having anything to do with getting him banned and will likely claim that her shady spiel wasn’t aimed at him, but it certainly seems that way.

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When Nicki Minaj first started speaking about her breakup from longtime boyfriend Safaree Samuels, she told Angie Martinez that infidelity was never an issue in their relationship. But as the world kept turning, the story about their demise began to shift.

After Nicki heard that Safaree had released a breakup song, “Love the Most” she wanted to make sure that he didn’t come out looking like an angel. She told him to tell the truth about the reasons why their relationship ended and she brought up the fact that he cheated on her.

Recently, TMZ caught up with the up and coming rapper and asked him to clarify those claims.

“It’s a two way street, you know. I’m not perfect. Nobody’s perfect.”

Then the reporter asks Safaree does he believe Nicki didn’t want to share the limelight or didn’t want him to be as successful as she is.

“No female is going to want it to change outside of the coming, playing the back. Ain’t no female going to comfortable with you trying to go after something else.”

As a female woman, I can say that’s certainly not always the case. But afterward, Safaree explained that he’s moved on.

“I’m happy now. I couldn’t be happier. I didn’t put the song–it’s not a diss song. It’s not trying to air nothing out. It’s just me explaining where I’m coming from. Ain’t trying to beat nobody down or nothing like that.”

Alright…these two are getting on my nerves now. Who really knows what to believe when the stories are so inconsistent?

The best course of action, at this point, would be for them to stop talking about each other, since they both claimed they’ve moved on.